[To be used with We've Got Fun and Games, 594 WC]

Baridi was a bit thirsty, so she made her way to the watering hole. She smiled just a bit as she watched a few cubs play with a shell not far from where she stood. Ah, what a job cubs were. Her own litter of little ones was long grown by now, but they still were her babies. Still, there was a difference between giving a little ball of fur a tongue bath and watching grown leopards run around on the field chasing down the shell and running in to one another. She had to admit she was glad some of them hadn't chosen to be players if only because it was so easy to get hurt.

She was a worry wort, she knew. Baridi felt as though she had the right, considering she was a mother. Didn't all mothers worry for their children? Even those that left before eggs hatched or gave cubs away to a hybrid couple surely wondered how their offspring were getting along.

The leopardess sighed softly after she quenched her thirst, water dripping from her muzzle.while she watched the cubs. Oh, to be a mother again...she loved her children dearly, but that maternal ache to raise and watch cubs was returning fiercely. She toyed with a rock with her paw, much like players did with shells, before kicking it into the pond. That was it...she was going off on an adventure into the rouge lands. She hadn't been there in ages and perhaps she might find someone willing to give her the gift of children once again. Last time had admittedly been an accident, but it turned into the greatest joy she could have had. This time she knew what she wanted in a mate, and maybe could even be a bit picky about what he looked like.

Baridi grinned as she stood and headed in the direction she had once come from, so many months ago now, with her cubs in tow. She wouldn't return until she was sure she was with cubs, and then have them be born here rather than in the rouge lands. It was safe here, after all. She wouldn't go far, she thought to herself as she headed through the pride. Just far enough to seek out an exciting male. Oh...perhaps she could woo a lion this time. She did so admire their manes. Hybrids were highly prized for teams here as well since they were so diverse. With a resolute look on her face, she set out into the rouge lands to try to find herself a willing male.

FIN
WC 435, total 1029